Borders and Waldenbooks Stores to Host New Year's Eve Parties for Kids

Most Borders and Waldenbooks stores will host free, family-friendly New Year's Eve parties for kids on Wednesday, Dec. 31, beginning at 2 p.m. The events will include fun New Year's-themed activities for kids of all ages and are a great opportunity for families to spend an enjoyable -- and affordable -- afternoon together.

The parties will kick off with age-appropriate arts and crafts activities, including coloring for younger children and projects that invite older children to create their own New Year's Eve party hats, noisemakers and countdown clocks. Next, kids seven and under will have a story time, during which they will enjoy beloved classics such as "Goodnight Moon," "Corduroy" and "Harold and the Purple Crayon."

While the younger crowd settles in for story time, older children can participate in seasonally themed activities -- a brief foreign language lesson that teaches kids how to say "Happy New Year" in Japanese, Italian, Turkish, Swahili and a variety of other languages and a "predict the future" game that encourages kids to think about what will happen in 2009. The party will also include a festive parade, giving kids a chance to sing and show off their party hats and noisemakers, and -- since no New Year's Eve party is complete without a countdown -- kids will wrap-up the party by counting down from ten and ringing in the new year a few hours early.

In honor of the party, the Seattle's Best Coffee cafes -- located in nearly all Borders superstores -- will be offering free samples of beverages and baked goods throughout the event. To find out if your local store is hosting a New Year's Eve party for kids, click the Store Locator tab on Borders.com and search for your favorite store, then click on the store's page to view a list of upcoming events.